Jacob Kriss
Education
Skidmore College
Major: Computer Science · Minor: Management and Business
Skills
Languages
Go, TypeScript, Python, C, JavaScript, Java
Backend & Databases
REST APIs, Node.js, SQLite, SQL
Tools & Platforms
Linux, Git, Bash, DigitalOcean, Nginx, UiPath, AWS, GCP
ML / Data
TensorFlow, NumPy, PyTorch, Pandas, RAG, Embeddings
Relevant Coursework
- Foundations of Machine Learning (CS316)
- Design and Analysis of Algorithms (CS305)
- Software Design (CS226)
- Business and Organizational Management (MB107)
Experience
Contract Software Engineer — Asaply
- Refactor Go and TypeScript backend APIs and workflows to simplify data handling and improve reliability.
- Help establish GitHub workflow, code review, and CI/CD guardrails to improve maintainability in a fast-moving startup environment.
Robotic Process Automation Intern — Voya Financial
- Developed and maintained robotic process automations in UiPath and C# to streamline operations and improve data accuracy.
- Refactored existing automations for greater reliability and performance, integrating dynamic logging and exception handling systems.
- Implemented OCR-based email parsing and helped to train machine learning models for communications mining, enabling more dynamic automation workflows.
Computer Science Instructor — ID Tech
- Taught machine learning courses covering foundational concepts in Python, TensorFlow Keras, NumPy, and data preprocessing.
- Guided students through the development of hands-on projects, including neural networks and multithreaded applications.
Data Analytics Intern — JDM Import Co
- Conducted detailed market and pricing analysis, identifying customer trends to drive product strategy.
- Gained hands-on experience with MongoDB by assisting data analysts in storing, cleaning, and processing large datasets.
Projects
Claim Analysis
- Built a full-stack fact-checking application that extracts factual claims from user-provided text and evaluates them against reputable academic and scientific sources.
- Designed a hybrid RAG pipeline that fetches source material, chunks documents, caches Voyage API embeddings, and ranks retrieved evidence passages using semantic similarity and lexical overlap.
Byte Chat
- Built a secure terminal-based chat application in Go with a self-hosted architecture and encrypted communication.
- Designed a custom TCP communication layer with payload framing, request-response synchronization, and persistent connections.
- Developed a terminal UI using the Bubble Tea framework, implementing structured message handling and session management.
Life Logger
- Built a full-stack application to record entries, aggregate statistics, and help users identify behavioral trends across customizable time frames.
Dynamic Image Compression
- Built a full-stack application around a custom seam-carving image compression algorithm originally developed for a dynamic programming course.
- Implemented a Flask backend for image processing and a Vue.js frontend for image upload and compression controls.